Reel



Feb. 19, 1952 c. A. LITZLER 2,585,948

REEL

Filed March 5, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 E INVENTOR.

CYPIL ,4. LITZLEE A TTORNEYS Q. A. LITZLER Feb. 19, 1952 REEL 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 5, 1947 INVENTOR.

CYE/L A. L/TZLEE ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 19, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE REEL Cyril A. Litzler, Cleveland; Ohio err i at m lw 5. sria1 a,73 .4

1-7 Glaims. 1

This invention relates to apparatus for solutioning, treating, handlingand/or drying material such as a continuously moving weftless or' warpbeam fabric or a strand or plurality of strands desired tobe moved inspaced parallel planes or lines, and more particularly to a reel andmaterial supporting reel barsadapted to support and carry Weftlessfabric or other. cords, monofilaments or strands in a manner tofacilitate the treating and/or drying thereof.

Byway of example, and not by way of limitation, this description willtreat of my invention largelyin the environment of the treatment ofweftless tire ply cord fabric wherein the solution afforded by my.invention to theproblem heretofore existing may beconveniently-illustrated;

The making of-a tire ply consists in part in impregnating weftlessfabric comprising a plurality of textile or monofilm cords or strands bypassing the fabric through a dip tank containing a solution of latex orother impregnating finate-rial. After dipping it'is necessary anddesirable thatthe fabric be dried expeditiously, in a limited space and:without impairing the desired impregnation of the-cords so that it willbe properly presented to the calender. rolls where the rubber of theplyis forcibly worked thereinto. In the drying step it is important thatthe strands bespaced apart, advanced and dried. at high speed, heldunderv desirable tension, preserved from abrasive or deleteriouscontactwith reel bars or other guiding instrumentalities, and widely exposed toa freecirculation of air around and between strands andthroughoutsubstantially the whole. unim aired le gth of each r nd.-

For instance a drying reel in which my invenon. s m lq e o a a e a be bt twelve feetin diameter andabout six feet long and carry about fifteenhundred or so latex-wet strands each under tension depending on thematerial of which the strands are made. According to presently acceptedpractice latex-wet cotton threads or yarns may be carried over thedrying reels at tensions from about /z to 2 pounds per strand; rayonthreads or yarns at tensions from about to 3 pounds per strand, andnylon monofilms and/or nylon strands from about 2 to Spounds per strand.Such reels so loaded may be run to have a peripheral speed of about 210-feet per minute whilst dryin g"ai r or gases are blown radiallyaroundand between the spaced. strands of the fabric at desirably high dryingvelocities and at temperatures of the order of about 300 Those skilledin the art will appreciate how important it is to prevent breakage ofany of the strands, with consequent interruption of the progress of thework, and how important it is that the strands of the fabricaremaintained inspaced relation to each other wherewith to preventwebbing or crossing or tangling of the strandswith adhesion of thelatex-wetstrands to each other. Webbingand the incidents thereof, if notprevented, impairs the calendering of rubber between the strands of aplyand interferes with thedesired independent bond betweeneach strand orcord and the rubber of theplywith which itis associated.

It is therefore amongthe objects of my invention tolprovidea dryingreeladapted to support spacedfistran ds as in weftless, cordfabricorwarp beam fabric at determinable laterally and longitudinally spacedpoints and to carry thestrands comprising saidfabric in uniformly spacedrelationship whereby substantially the whole length of each of saidstrands is held and: advanced substantially free in space and freelyavailable to, be dried or treated as may be; desired.

' Another. object is toprovide an improved drying. reel, adapted tosupport a web of latex impregnatedweftless tire or warp beam fabricwithoutjwebbing, fouling, marking, scoring or otherwise deleteriolslyaffecting the fabric, the strands thereof or the impregnation anddrying, thereof. An ther ob t i to p o i e a reel or d y n weftless,fabric or the like to facilitate rapid anduhiforin drying thereof underadvantageous conditions of speed, tension and position.

11 als a b ct of my n nt t provide a reel having notched strandsupporting rods or ar ada d 9 Carry. a ur it of i n si uniformly spaeedrelationship; to support the t nd. il. sm hly und d mi ed Points r areasof contact and to receive and release the strands with freedom frominjurious effects he up n-V Other and; more specific objects are toprovide for supporting the strands of weftless fabric or other load on adrying reel in a manner that facilitates accurate and adjustablealignment of the strands between supporting bars on'the same reel aswell as between bars on different reels over which the strands pass insuccession; to provide strand supporting bars that are readilyadjustable, replaceable and interchangable and in which a wide range ofdesirable materials may be selectively employed for their respectivechemical, thermal and physical properties; also to provide strandsupporting reel bar's having effectively notched portions or edges, thecontours of which may be economically and expeditiously formed and givena wide and desirable range of depth, width, curvature and spacing tofacilitate by the replacement, adjustment and substitution thereof awide range of shapes and sizes wherewith to accommodate strands ofdifferent sizes, qualities, character and material, whether metal,glass, plastic, textile or the like. A more specific object is toprovide screw threaded strand supporting reel bars or rods, thecharacter of the thread form of which defines the notches for receivingand supporting the strands. Another object is to provide a reel with aplurality of such threaded strand supporting reel bars and to supportsuch reel bars about the periphery of the reels for adjustable rotationabout their own axis wherewith to provide that the effective notchalignment between adjacent and successive bars may be made quickly andeffectively by the threaded engagement of each reel bar with one or morethreaded members carried by the reel. Another object is to provide areel with threaded strand supporting reel bars and to support the reelbars securely throughout their length as against the high loadsresulting from carrying the tensioned strands while preservingpracticable and convenient facility of adjustment, substitution,replacement and repair of the several bars.

It is a general object to facilitate drying weftless or warp beam fabricand/ or treating strands of textile and other material with economy ofspace, time and effort, with ease of operation,

adjustment, replacement and repair and with wide facility of adaptationto different materials and conditions of operation.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be more fully setforth in the following de scription of a preferred form of my inventionreference being had to the accompanying figures in which Figure 1 is adiagrammatic representation of the disposition of reels embodying myinvention in the environment of treating weftless cord fabric for makinga tire ply or sizing warp beam fabric. Figure 2 is a perspective view ofa drying reel embodying my invention. Figure 3 is an enlargedfragmentary view of a preferred form of such a reel showing one strandsupporting reel bar supported 'on the reel. Figure 4 is a perspectiveview of one of the split half nuts which secure the reel bars to thereel; Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along the plane 5-5 of Fig. 3transversely through a reel bar, supporting plate and half nut inassembled relation. Figure 6 is a perspective view of a threaded end nutin which one end of each of the reel bars is threadably engaged andsupported. Figure 'l is an enlarged partial longitudinal section of areel bar and the strands supported thereby taken along the line 1-1 ofFigure 5. Figure 8 is a broken fragmentary section in a plane passingthrough the axis of the reel of Figure 3 and showing the disposition ofone of the reel bars in one of the end bearing blocks and in anintermediate half nut. Figure 9 is a perspective view of the bar bearingblock shown in Fig. 8. Figure 10 is a fragmentary I sectional view takenin a plane of the axes of the reel and one of strand supporting bars atthe leftward end of one of the bars as viewed in Figure 3 showing amodified form of bar and split nut. Figure 11 is a composite fragmentarysection taken in a plane of the axes of the reel and one iii) of thereel bars showing a modified form of reel bar and coactinginstrumentalities.

In Fig. 1 there is shown diagrammatically an illustrative layoutincluding drying or treating reels embodying my invention in anillustrative installation for treating wefltess cord fabric for makingrubber tires or treating any warp fabric. The weftless fabric l with thestrands or cords comprising the same properly spaced is introduced atthe left, moving first from left to right thence downwardly into a diptank 2, containing latex or other impregnating solution 3, under andaround a submerged roll 4, and thence upwardly through wringer rolls 5to a first drying reel 6. The tension on the fabric and the strandsthereof prior to their entering the bite of the wringer rolls 5 iscontrolled by means not shown ahead of the dip tank and is preferablyrather light wherewith to let the fibers of the strands be relativelyrelaxed and susceptible of rapid impregnation. The wringer rolls performat least the dual service of removing excess liquid from the strands andalso providing the reaction or anchor for the tension to be applied tothe fabric rightwardly of the drying reels as viewed in Figure 1,wherewith the strands may be carried over the drying reels at adesirably high tension as for example within the ranges mentioned abovedepending upon the material thereof. Leaving the wringer rolls 5 thefabric proceeds upwardly of and over the drying reel 6, each strandbeing separately supported while in contact with the reel on thethreaded reel bars 23, see Figs. 2, 3, 5, 7 and 8. The fabric preferablyhas contact with the bars of the drying reel throughout the uppersubstantially semi-cylindrical portion of the reel passing downwardly toa floating tensioning roll 1 where its direction is reversed and, asshown by the arrows, again sent upwardly to the second drying reel 9,similar to or identical with the reel 6, over which it may pass insubstantially the same way as it passed over the reel 6, thencedownwardly again to a second and preferably floating tensioning reel 8,thence back upwardly into a festoon collector l1 and finally into thebite of the calender rolls I6 where the rubber of the ply is forced intointimate contact with and around each of the several strands of thefabric.

As also shown diagrammatically and incompletely in Fig. 1 illustrativehoods I0 and H overlie the upper substantially half portions of each ofthe drying reels 6 and 9, which hoods preferably lie as close aspracticable to the ends of the reels but are spaced radially therefromsufficientlyto provide arcuate chambers over each of the reels above andradially beyond the strands of fabric carried thereupon. Intake ducts l2and I 3 respectively convey hot dry air or gases to each of the hoodspreferably at about the temperature mentioned above and with suflicientpressure to induce a rapid passage of the hot air or drying gasesradially through the spaces between each of the strands of the fabric assuggested by the arrows at. Appropriate means such as the illustrativehoods or baffies associated with outlet ducts l4 and [5 are provided toconvey away the gases burdened with the moisture or vapors of thesolvent taken from the wet strands of fabric by the hot gases. As knownin the art the gases may be appropriately re-circulated and dried withthe not unusual provision for recovering the solvent, all withappropriate conduits, blowers, separators and the like not shown. By

whatever means the=drying air .or gases-are ciroulated, handled orconveyed, my teaching is that I-preferto-cause'the drying gases to movetransversely across the strands of the fabric, passing-through thespaces between thestrands whereby to take advantage of the feature of myinvention by virtue of which the spacing; between; the strands ismaintained to facilitate the'drying thereof.

'The drying reel, such as either thereel 6 or 9 above mentioned,embodying my invention may, andpreferably does, as shown and suggestedin Figure 2; comprise end members 20 and2l spaced apart and fixedlysecured to and rotatable with an axle 2,2'through which the reel as awhole is rot tablyv p rted a d ay e r orres tarded s s re By mean p senly o b v scri ed, here a tsupp rted a p u a f tr nd supporting screwthreaded reel bars 23, see also Figures 3,v 5 and 8, all of whichpreferably lie parallel with the axis of the. reel andat equal radialdistances therefrom; the axes of the several reel bars 23. when sopositioned and secured on the reel defining a plurality of equallyspaced lines-lying in a common right circular cylinder whoseaxis iscoincident with the axle 22.

Each of the end members 20 and 2!.of the reel maybe appropriately castor otherwise constructedjtd comprise a hub 24. snugly fitting the axle22- and-preferably keyed thereto, from which spokes 25.-radiateandterminate at their outer ends in an integral annular rim 26; As bestshown in Fig-ure3, angled members 27 are secured to the rims 26adjacent. the peripheral edge thereof whereby to form flat load bearingplatforms upon w ich. may be securely mounted. the means through whichthe. reel bars 23 are removably and adjustably supported in theiroperative positions for carrying. the strands or fabric. Theangled-members 2! are equally spaced around the peripheries of the rims260i the members Zitand 21 and are longitudinally aligned in pairs onthe respective rims so that a line joining aligned pairs, of angles 2flwill lie parallelto the axis of the members 28 are; fixedly clamped andsecured aflat load bearing plate 29, as viewed in Figure 3, the bottomor radially inward edge of which rests on theupper, surfaces of theangles .2! and may also rest'on the peripheral edge of the rims 25 as.when the mid-portions of the angles 3? lie flush with the peripheraledge of the rims. 215, as I prefer. The upper, i. e., radially outward,edge and adjacent portion of each of the plates 29 affords the supportand place of attachment for each of the strand supporting bars 23,,

The strand supporting bars 23-, as mentioned above, are externally screwthreaded throughout at. least: those parts of the lengthsthereof withwhich the: strands have contact, and eachbar supported radially outwardof the outermost radial edge of each of the plates 29 largely inthreaded supports or nuts whereby to have a threaded adjustable,rotatable and detachable relationto the plate 29. At desirably spacedintervals within and between the ends ofthe plates 29 there areprovidedpairs of half clamp nuts. 33 eachcomprising two halves 33a and- 33b,Figs. 4 and 5, theinner upper faces-of whichhavefeinale threadscorresponding complementarilyto the external malevrthreadsioftheabarsl-231zbutzextend ing. inieach half nut portionfor-allimited-,cir-.- cumferential extent, as ,for about -intheformandproportionsherein illustrated. The lower clampportions of the clampnuts havev their inner -juxtaposed faces arranged to, lieosnugly againstthe opposite faces of theupper part of the plate 29, as shown in Figure5, whereby to be snugly and releasably grippable. and engageabletherewith when clamped thereto as by screws 32, as shown in Figure 5.When firmly clampedpto theplate the half nuts will also have firmengagement with the threaded bars23. Preferably thescrews 32 havethreaded engagement with the half 30a asat 33,-Figure 5, passing throughapproe priate longitudinally elongated apertures 34, see alsoFigure 8,near the upper edge of the-plate 29- and throughappropriate closefitting apertures 35 in the other'half 3% which apertures 35 arepreferably counterbored to receive more cr -less the heads of thescrews; Preferably a pair of longitudinally aligned. screws-32 isprovided'for eachclamp-nut 36 wherewith to guide its sliding movementrelative to h the plate under the influence ofthe-bar 23 when the screws32 are released a little for this purpose.

Asshown' in Figure 5, the threaded nut parts of the clamp nuts 30 riseabove or radially out-r ward of the center C of the threaded bar 23 foradistance sufilcient to restrain the threaded bar from outward radialmovement as well as any other transversemovement relative to the plate23. Theamount by which the extreme radially outward ends of the clampnuts30 lie beyond the centers Cof the bars is limited so that theseoutermost portions of the nuts will be well spaced inwardly of thestrands S shown in broken lines in Figure 5 when the same are carried-onthe reeland lie in the grooves of the threads of the bars 23, see alsoFigure '7; the exact proportioning of the threaded parts of theclamp-nuts 30 with respect to the threaded bars 23 will be governed inthe design of any particular reel by the distance between adjacent bars23 and the chordal relation of the strands S to the circle which passesthrough the radially outward grooves of the threads of the bar 23 withwhich the strands have contact in their tensioned relation to the reel.

Threadably supporting one end of each b ar- 23 and in turn supported bythe outer end corner of each of the plates 29 are split nuts 36, seeFigs. 3, and 6, which are removably clamped to the plates by pairs ofscrews 31 passing through elongated apertures like the apertures 34, seeFigure 8, in much the same way'that the clamp nuts 38 are secured to theplate, but the nuts 36 have substantially complete internal threads asshown in Figure 5 whichcorrespond complementary to the external threadsof the bar 23 save only for the gap 38 wherein the nuts 35 are split toreceive the plate 29. The nuts 35 take a U-shaped form, the bend 39 ofthe U containing the internal threads above mentioned and the legs Ailthereof lying respectively on opposite sides of the plate 29 forreleasable clamping and sliding engagement therewith. Preferably thebars 23 are squared or flattened as at 4! where they ex-tendbeyond thenuts 33 whereby they may-be gripped by a wrench and turned as maybedesired. Lock'nuts 3-3 are preferably-provided on the threaded parts of;thebars- 23 between the "nuts 33 and the squared end 4| wherewithto lookthe bars: 23 in any desired position ofrotatlon. -At the ends of thescrews 23 and plates-29 opposite and remote from the nuts 36 and squaredends 4|, I provide bearing blocks 60, see Figs. 8 and 9, which areremovably and fixedly secured to the radially outward end corners of theplates 29 and which give pivotal support to the bars 23 whilerestraining such bars against movement in the direction of their axes.Each of the blocks 60 has a pair of depending legs BI and 62 whichstraddle and snugly engage the top of the plate 29 and also straddle theend of the cushioning strip 43 as shown in Figure 8. Preferablyprovision is made for a pair of radially spaced clamp screws 63 passingthrough close fitting apertures 64 in the plate and close fittingapertures 65 in the leg 62 of the block and with screw threadedengagement with tapped holes 66 in the leg 6| of the block wherewith topositively though removably secure the block in fixed relation to thecorner of the plate when the clamp or screws 63 are screwed home.

As shown in the right portion of Figure 8 the end of the screw 23 has asmooth cylindrical portion 61 of diameter equal to about the rootdiameter of the threads and which portion terminates in a squareshoulder 68 beyond which extends a smooth cylindrical portion 69 ofsomewhat less diameter than the portion 61; the cylindrical portion 69terminating in a shoulder 10 beyond which a last portion H extendsbeyond the block for a sufficient distance to receive a bushing 12 and anut 13, the portion ll being externally screw threaded sufficiently toprovide threaded engagement for the nut 13. The block 60 has a bore 15of diameter corresponding to the portion 69 of the end of the barwherewith to permit a close rotary fit therewith, and the block also hasa counterbore 16 of diameter corresponding to the part 61 of the bar fora similar fit; a square shoulder 11 at the bottom of the counterboreaffording a seat for the shoulder 68 of the bar restrains the baragainst rightward axial movement as viewed in Figure 8. The bushing 12bears on the shoulder 10 of the bar 23 and the length of the cylindricalpart 69 is proportioned to the length of the bore 15 so that the bushinghas a close sliding fit with the adjacent face of the block 60 when thenut 13 clamps the bushing against the shoulder 10 whereby to restrainthe bar 23 against bodily leftward movement as viewed in Figure 8. Thuswhile the bearing block 60 permits rotation of the bar 23 about its ownaxis while restraining it from axial movement, turning the bar 23 aboutits axis will move the strands S which lie in the grooves 50 of thethreads of the bar axially of the bar depending on the direction of thethreads and the direction of rotation. By the same token the clamp nuts30 and the split nut 36 will be moved in the same way and to the sameextent along the axis of the bar when the bar is rotated and for thatreason the apertures 34 through which the clamping screws 32 and 31extend are elongated enough to permit the nuts to be moved axially adistance equal to at least one full pitch of the thread on the bar 23.

An alternative form of the split nut 36 and adjacent end of the bar 23is mentioned for a more complete disclosure of my invention withreference to Fig.'l0. The split nut 36a, being otherwise similar to thenut 36 has a smooth bore rotatably receiving the smooth unthreaded end80 of the bar 23a, otherwise the same as the bar 23, wherewith the nut36a may be fixedly secured as by screws 31a having a snug fit withcorresponding apertures in the plate 29. Locking the bar 23a againstrotation may be done by the grip of the clamp nuts 30. Rotation of thebar 23a would not require sliding movement of the nut 36a. Otherwise thecoaction and operation of the parts would be substantially the same asmy preferred form, i. e. the form illustrated in Figures 3-9.

When one strand S is first placed on the reel the lock nuts 42 andclamping screws 32 and 31 are appropriately loosened so that each of thebars 23 may be turned in the nuts 30 and 36 and block 60 and the nutsare free to slide on the plate then not substantially more than half aturn clockwise or counter-clockwise of each of the several bars will berequired to align the outer parts 50 of the groove of all the threads inparallel planes normal tothe axis of the reel. Thus the strand passingfrom one bar to another, i. e., passing from the outermost portion 50 ofthe groove of the thread of one bar to the corresponding part of thegroove of the thread of the next bar will lie truly in a plane normal tothe axis of the reel. Thus each strand will have no tendency to contactany of the bars 23 except in the aligned portions 50 of the grooves ofall the bars on the reel. In the first instance the aligning of a singlestrand around the reel and the appropriate adjustment of each of thescrews 23 will bring the strand receiving portions of all of the groovesof all the threads of each of the bars into proper alignment since thethreads on all the bars are substantially identical size, form andpitch. Then when all the bars are clamped and locked in their properpositions by the screws 32 and 31 and lock nuts 42 and the reel isloaded all of the strands to be carried on the reel will each lie andtravel in its respective and intended plane normal to the axis of thereel. Similarly by appropriate adjustment of the threaded bars 23 oneach of a plurality of reels over which one or more strands S isintended to pass the strand engaging portions 50 of the grooves of thethreads on all the bars of all the reels may readily, and/or from timeto time, be brought into the desired and perfect alignment to guide thestrands correctly in the desired planes of movement throughout theirWhole travel over a plurality of reels.

For the same reasons and in the same way the spacing between the strandswill always correspond to the longitudinal thickness of the threads asat 5|, Figure '7, in the grooves of which the strands lie and have theirguidance and support. As suggested in Figure 7 the shape of the threadform of the threads for the bars 23 may be chosen at will although Iprefer that threads with rounded bottoms and tops substantially as shownin Figure 7 be employed whereby to more smoothly receive and support theseveral strands substantially as therein depicted.

Referring to Figure 5, the extend or length of contact between anystrand and any reel bar 23 will depend principally on the degree towhich the chordal lines in which the strands lie between adjacent barsdepart from tangency at the point of contact between the strand and thebar on the one hand and upon the root diameter of the thread on the baron the other hand; assuming the strands to be under such tension as tolie in substantially straight lines between bars. The formerconsideration will be governed by the peripheral size of the reel andthe spacing between bars thereupon whilst the latter will be a matter ofchoice of the diameter of each of the bars 23 and the root diameter ofthe threads thereof. ,Among :these factors .itwillabe 194 1 169 ..ated:that the closer .thebars areaspaced the greater will ,be the number ofpoints .of .cQIltact and support .for eachstrand on agiven reel there-..by increasing the gross area of contact, between "the reel andthelstrandssupportedthereby onthe onehand whilst the more widely thebars are spaced the greater will be the area of contactbetweenthestrand-and each of the bars with which it'mak'escontact on the otherhand. Those skilled in the art will appreciate thenature of thealgebraic or arithmetical computations required to design a reelaccording to the precep, 5 ofmy invention wherewith to obtain desi ab-minimum areas of contact .betweenthestrands and and he a s co s st ythswd engi eer practice balanced against the structural requirement ofthe reel as a whole and theloads to Joe firmposed thereupon in relation.to the desired tension to be maintained in the strands the strands aresupported by the reel.

The tension in the. strands Will largely measure the radial load imposedupon each of the reel bars 23. Especially where for considerations such.as those mentioned above it is desired that the bars 23 be of smalldiameter-as for example /2", and thus having no great strength as beams,with relativelymhigh tension in the strands and relatively wide spacingbetween clamp nuts, then I prefer to .interpose acushioning strip 43,see Figure 5, between theradially outward edge of the plate 29 and theradially inward threads of the bar 23 so that this strip may transmitthe radial loads from the otherwise unsupported parts of the bardirectly to the plate. The cushion ,memberA'3 may take the form of athin brass strip, the length and width of which may substantiallycorrespond to the length and width of the outermost face of the plate 29upon which it lies. The tops of the threads may thusbear forcibly uponthe strip without hazard of deformation under load.

Assembly and removal of ,thebars 23 with and from a reel can be-carriedout with much facility as the above description suggests. To assemble abar to a plate the end nuts 36 may be threaded onto the bars, the block60 pivotally connected :therewith, and then with ,the c1amp;nutsf 30opened up to receive the bar-thelatter may be placed in positionwhereafter positive locking of the block .60 to the plate and initialclamping of the nuts to the plate and to the bars, followed by suchadjustment asOccasion-requireS locates each bar in its desired radial,circumferential of these simple operations.

:One of the advantages ofmy invention is the facility with which thestrand supporting bars may be removed and replaced whereby bars ofdifferent materials and of different chemical, thermal and physicalproperties may be substituted and interchanged for different requirementand conditions of service and use. Similarly where bars having differentthread forms, pitch or size are desired to be substituted then thesubstitution will require merely the operations mentioned above plus thesubstitution of corresponding and complementary nuts and possiblybearing blocks as the case may be.

By the employment of threaded and threadably supported strand supportingbars I have in effect provided a reel with notched strand engaging pi the o v ls wi de a t t fl f m ths llns o -.n an s 11'!1' .e". t ira e .Q te s r ds- ;Howeverthi ,arture is so sli tin view of the lim ted lenetlwI sset s b iweeniiil and the remo e ha it i i ss q m se et i 21y nec sar were sash 9 ii ss s 9. il .23 .of .qirsii a t athe tha hslisa conto rThe employment of strand supporting bars havin circul rethe than h lisaistnse iser s in groo es;issm rssedin s ifis inren t iieu l dllifllll9i$mean s ms i s th b rsilqneiteeieel r stinguished from restraining thebars agains loni dine m men a in th :P EQiQ T-E. hereinab r ill statedsedidsssribsd As presently advised I believe that the costrof makins rand su p rting .l ar twu ci cu st and-sures tin ers s 9 "9 HW L ithfifll S 5% -c threading may be readily acco pushed-9n or u he os p fleeslens- 2h nssnti iuses i qsrss s astin thr g m a i fil 40 known th rt- J1I provide circular grooves culer a elsr9 s t8s 1th b. s ew threaded erevs a rrn t n nut 36 ar us s e r hs s se .d P sitive latte men .t s ate29 bvs ews 1 an th 36 in respect to theirin rnaIthreadsangi; 9. .action,yvith the threaded ends 9 I ,pf. the bars. Th lam nu 1 0! e ce -.e .absi vmentioned. ar .l k at clam -m tab lon t e p at 1: l -endrsleast a-t 1. at i lendz a ll iin hes m wev e era l ewith th ems s r ws. messinthe elongated openings 34. The bars 231) have the square or non-circularends 4| and employ lock nuts 42 in the same way and for the same reasonsas described in reference to the preferred form. Rotation of the bars23b moves them axially and moves them and the clamp nuts bodilylongitudinally of the plate, thereby shifting the strand engaginggrooves 90 in much the same way and with much the same results asobtained in my preferred form.

While I have illustrated and described a preferred form and embodimentof my invention and have illustrated and discussed the same withespecial reference to its utility in one advantageous environment I donot care to be limited in the scope of my patent to the form or formsand environment herein specifically disclosed nor in any manner otherthan by the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. A reel bar for supporting a. plurality of strands peripherally abouta reel and in spaced relation to each other, said bar having externalspaced grooves extending around the bar, at least certain of saidgrooves being adapted to receive and support such strands in anyrotational angular position of the bar, at least certain of said groovescomprising screw threads, and means associated with said reel andcoacting with said bar for supporting said bar whereby upon rotation ofsaid bar new strand supporting surfaces are progressively brought intostrand supporting position at points progressively advancing in an axialdirection and means for locking said bar against rotation relative tothe reel.

2. The combination of claim 1 with a member having internal groovescomplementary to the grooves on said bar and interfittingly coactingtherewith and having sliding engagement with said reel.

3. The combination of claim 2 in which the grooved part of said memberextends less than 360 around said bar and exposes the radially outwardlydisposed parts of said grooves to said strands.

4. The combination of claim 3 with means for releasably clamping saidmember in fixed relation to said reel.

5. The combination of claim 4 in which said first named means includesan internally threaded ferent pitch than the said screw threads.

9. The combination of claim 8 in which said strand supporting groovesare annular.

10. The combination of claim 1 in which all of said strand supportinggrooves comprise screw threads and said first named means supports saidbar for rotation on its axis without movement in the direction of itsaxis.

11. In a reel for peripherally supporting a plurality of strands inuniformly spaced mutually parallel relation the improvement comprisinground strand supporting bars disposed about the periphery of the reeland parallel to the axis thereof, each bar having grooves extending 360about the exterior thereof at least certain of said grooves beingadapted to support said strands and at least certain of said groovestaking the form of screw threads, the supported strands lying in theradially outwardly disposed parts of said grooves remote from the axisof the reel, and means supporting said bars whereby upon rotation ofsaid bars about their own axis movement of said strands in the directionof the axis of the reel is induced, and means for locking said barsagainst rotation relative to the reel.

12. The improvement of claim 11 in which said bars are restrained fromthe same rate of axial movement as the pitch of said threads uponrotation of said bars about their own axes.

13. The improvement of claim 12 in which said bars are constrainedagainst axial movement upon rotation thereof about their own axes.

14. The improvement of claim 11 in which sai second named means havescrew threaded engagement with the screw threads of said bars and saidstrand supporting grooves have a different pitch from the threads ofsaid second named means.

15. The improvement of claim 14 in which said strand supporting groovesare annular.

16. The improvement of claim 11 with means underlying and supportingsaid bars against bending movement relative to the axis of the reel.

17. A reel for supporting weftless fabric comprising a pair of spacedend members secured to an axle, a plurality of externally screw threadedreel bars spanning the distance between said members at peripherallyspaced points and adapted to uniformly space the strands of said fabric,each of said reel bars being releasably secured to and supported by aradially extending plate fastened to and connecting said members, and astrip relatively soft material interposed between each of said reel barsand its respective supporting plate, the strands of said fabric lying inthe outwardly disposed parts of the grooves of the threads of said bars.

CYRIL A. LITZLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 758,520 Fredenburgh Apr. 26, 1904822,278 Ingham June 5, 1906 1,847,161 Alden Mar. 1, 1932 2,165,259 HelmJuly 11, 1939 2,271,347 Runals Jan. 27, 1942 2,369,481 Modigliani Feb.13, 1945 2,424,490 Henry July 22, 1947 2,475,483 Dasher July 5, 1949

